Achieng Ajulu-Bushell
The mother of Achieng Ajulu-Bushell, who wishes to race for Great Britain rather than Kenya from August, has denied that the decision was made because of money and insisted that it has everything to do with a “16-year-old finding her own identity as a mixed-race child”.
Helen Bushell, conscious that her daughter will get facilities, coaching and support in Britain that would not be available to her in Kenya, was responding to a Times online reader who asked: “How much money was she paid to change citizenship?”
Bushell replied: “For the record, she never changed citizenship. She was born British and she hasn’t been paid a penny.”
She added in a call to The Times: “If only people knew how much it costs to get a child through to where Achieng is now. But it has nothing to do with money. This was not an easy decision to make and it was a decision Achieng took herself. She is not a Kenyan runner who became Bahraini or ran for Qatar. It is much more complex and personal. She has made a very difficult decision about what is ultimately about her own self-identity and an upbringing in a diverse and multicultural environment.”
Ajulu-Bushell, who would become the first black woman to be selected for Britain and England in swimming if she wins the 100 metres breaststroke at the British Gas British Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield tomorrow, said: “I was born here, I have a British passport, my mum is English. Having moved back here, once the choice was presented to me, I felt more English.”
Sporting loyalty is a sore subject in Kenya, which lost many a fine runner to Qatar and Bahrain in the wake of Wilson Kipketer, the 800 metres world record-holder, choosing to represent Denmark in 1996.
At the time that Ajulu-Bushell, whose father is a Kenyan professor of politics, accepted her scholarship to Plymouth College and the associated Leander swimming club, the Kenya London News said: “It is true that Kenyan sportsmen and women are entering a phase where patriotism is no longer primary. It is about them looking after themselves and their future.”
A decision has yet to be made on London 2012. Ajulu-Bushell raced for Kenya on August 1 last year. The Olympic Charter states that three years must pass before she can race for another nation, which runs to the middle of the eight-day swimming programme at London 2012.
However, the charter can be flexible. It states: “This period may be reduced or even cancelled, with the agreement of the NOCs [national Olympic committees] and IF [Fina, the world governing body] concerned, by the IOC Executive Board, which takes into account the circumstances of each case.”
Ben Ekumbo, president of the Kenyan Swimming Federation, said last night: “Achieng goes with our blessing. We are greatly disappointed that she will not swim for us but we wish her the very best.”
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